


Parental Guidance

by Quihi



Category: Rigel Black Chronicles - murkybluematter
Genre: Gen, Inspired by The Rigel Black Chronicles, Parenthood, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:33:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27689674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quihi/pseuds/Quihi
Summary: What did Harry's and Archie's parents think of their children's schooldays?  Could Harry and Archie really hide the ruse from them?  Perhaps their parents supported them more than they knew.  (Based on the Rigel Black Chronicles by murkybluematter.)
Relationships: Harry Potter & Lily Evans Potter, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black & Harry Potter, Sirius Black & Lily Evans Potter
Comments: 11
Kudos: 90
Collections: Rigel Black Chronicles Appreciation, Rigel Black Universe





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fanfic based on a fanfic, the Rigel Black Chronicles by murkybluematter, with a little influence from kitsunerei88's Revolutionary Arc.
> 
> All feedback and constructive criticism are appreciated!

When Harry walked into the parlor one day and announced, "I want to attend AIM," it came as a relief.

Lily had done the research, had gotten the pamphlets about the foreign magic schools that would accept halfbloods, and preferably Muggleborns, in the interest of avoiding prejudice. Unfortunately, Harry had not learned any foreign languages, so she was almost entirely limited to schools in America–Beauxbatons expected students to speak French, Schwarzenstein would be in German, and so on. After cutting out the more specialized schools, Harry's options were limited to AIM, Ilvermorny, Cascadia, and Oceania, even farther away in Australia.

What Harry wanted was to study Potions. Preferably at Hogwarts with Severus Snape, which was not an option. When Harry had been born, Lily was thrilled that her daughter would be permitted to attend the school that she had been denied, if that was where she chose to go. She had cried when that option was closed off, and cried again when Harry wanted to go there and had to be told no. So Lily had reached out to the other schools, researched their programs, and written letters to their Potions departments. Cascadia was clearly the best for potions, was the only one with serious ongoing research in the area, but Lily personally had fond memories of her time at AIM, and they did have a Potions Mastery track.

"Are you sure, sweetie? You want to go to AIM?" Lily checked, worried this was an impulse to avoid thinking about the decision.

"You went there, Mum–I want to follow in your footsteps. It'll be exciting to go abroad. I might learn something about Healing, too, and I'll be able to get so much farther with healing potions if I have a foundation in both areas." James nodded approvingly. Lily knew that James didn't really know much about either field, but just supported any shift in interest from Potions.

"That's a wonderful idea, Harry." Lily was relieved that Harry was finally expressing some interest in a school other than Hogwarts. "I loved my time at AIM–there were so many clubs and activities, and if you talk to your advisor, you should be able to take some Healing classes along with–" Lily paused, noticing Harry was tapping her fingers impatiently. "I'm sure you'll love it there."

"We're glad you've made a choice, little Fawn," James added. Harry nodded and ran off to find Archie.

* * *

The next day, Harry and Archie both returned from Diagon Alley with matching haircuts. Harry had stopped talking about Hogwarts, and Archie had stopped complaining about it, so either they'd accepted their respective schools or agreed to stop reminding each other of what they'd be missing. Before long, the end of August came and Lily was offering to help Harry pack her trunk.

It was certainly a surprise to learn that Harry was considering the Healing track entirely. Lily remembered how much time they spent on their studies, and how specialized their classes were, but Harry was right that Potions was heavily applied to Healing and studying Healing first would be useful for doing Potions research later.

Harry certainly seemed excited to attend AIM, when they were at the airport. She tried to hide her interest in everything around them, but Lily was happy to see it. She sincerely hoped that Harry would find a place there.

* * *

"James! We got a letter from Harry today."

"Another one already?"

Lily was also surprised at how prolific Harry had proven to be, but was not going to admit it. "Yes, _another one_. It's on the table."

"That's fifth so far this month! Our little Fawn is a good letter-writer after all." James smiled, thrilled. "I wonder why she's using a Dicto-quill."

"She is? I hadn't noticed. I wonder why." Students at AIM mainly used pens, and while it seemed odd that Harry was writing home with a quill, Lily had thought maybe Harry wanted to keep in practice for when she returned to Britain. Was her hand tired by the end of the day from taking notes? First year wasn't that intense. But what would Harry have to hide her handwriting? She'd think about it. A Dicto-quill was probably just convenient. "Well, it sounds like she's enjoying Healing, and getting on well with Hermione."

* * *

The day after Halloween, Sirius received two owls from Hogwarts. The first was a rather official notice from Hogwarts:

_Lord Black,_

_I regret to inform you that your son, Arcturus Rigel Black, was injured yesterday. An unidentified person attempted to kill him by putting a tablet in his drink which turned the pumpkin juice to acid. Fortunately, another student suspected something was wrong and prevented him from drinking it. In the process, the drink was spilled on his arm, which was burned from the acid. Professor Snape and I promptly treated him, and his arm is healing well. He should be fully recovered within a few days._

_Poppy Pomfrey, Matron  
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Archie was injured! Who at Hogwarts would want to kill Archie? He quickly opened the second letter.

_Dear Dad,_

_First, I'm fine! My arm was hurt in a prank that went a bit too far. There's a prank war between the Slytherins and Gryffindors, and someone used one of those tablets from Zonko's that changes your drink, but somehow it was turned to acid. Don't worry, the Slytherins can give as good as they get. I'm being careful and everything's fine. Please don't come visit or anything–my friends already worry about me enough!_

_With love,_

_Archie_

_(P.S.—have any new Marauders' products I can try out?)_

Sirius frowned. From Pomfrey's letter, it sounded more like a murder attempt than a prank. First year was too early for the pranks to get dangerous. Archie didn't seem to be taking it very seriously, but he tended to take things in stride and try to keep him from worrying, and the Slytherins _did_ watch out for each other. If it was really important to Archie, Sirius wouldn't go up to visit–parents visited Hogwarts so rarely, it would look worse than it was, since both letters agreed that Archie was fine. And Sirius didn't have a ton of standing to interfere given what he had gotten up to at school–it was assumed that students would take care of each other for the most part.

He would have to talk to James and Remus–something this serious had to be noted. James could contact the school and get an official record of the event for the Aurors, just in case there _was_ something more than a prank war going on.

* * *

When James returned home one day saying that an undercover operation had been ruined when his Polyjuice turned out to be defective, she wondered to herself if Harry had swiped it for a prank. She didn't _think_ they'd used it for anything before leaving, but it was possible that Harry or Archie had brought it to school. Hogwarts students were evidently very serious about their pranking, given Archie's injury and the stories that James and Sirius told. Really, though, it was more likely that the batch of Polyjuice had in fact been defective, and not enough magic had been imbued for it to work.

* * *

_Dear Dad,_

_First off, I'm fine. You're probably going to hear from Hogwarts about this, but I hope you get my letter first._

_Lee Jordan attacked me, turned out he was angry about the Marauders' prank line pushing his father out of business. I stopped him, my friends came to help, and Professors Snape and McGonagall showed up afterwards._

_I'll write again soon, I just wanted to tell you that everything is fine. You definitely don't need to come visit. My friends will never let me out of their sight after this._

_With love,_

_Archie_

Just after he finished reading the letter, another owl arrived from Hogwarts. Archie was certainly getting into a lot of trouble, and not all the fun kind as Sirius had hoped. He picked up the next letter to read immediately.

_Lord Black,_

_I regret to inform you that your son, Arcturus Rigel Black, was assaulted by another student, Lee Jordan. Jordan attacked Rigel when he was alone in the corridors and attempted to permanently paralyze his hands and erase his memory of the event. Rigel was able to stop Jordan and was uninjured._

_The next steps have not been decided, yet, but I assure you that Jordan will not be in a position to attack Rigel again. I will contact you about any steps that need to be taken._

_Severus Snape_  
_Head of Slytherin House_  
_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Sirius paused on _Rigel_ for a moment, but didn't think much of it in the context of the letter. Sirius suspected that Lee Jordan was the one behind the earlier attack as well. The Jordan family was involved in the pranking business, so it was likely that he had access to the materials, but this seemed like a bit much for a business rivalry, when they were both years away from graduating school, but Sirius didn't know of anything else that would prompt this attack.

Sirius flooed to Potter Place with both letters to speak with James and Lily. James had been kept late at work, but Lily was able to reassure Sirius. "Both letters agree that he is unharmed, Sirius. Archie's fine."

"I just–I have to do something! Archie was attacked! Should I go to Hogwarts?"

"No, Sirius, it's late. At least wait until tomorrow to visit. Where would you go–burst into someone's office unexpected? Knock on the front gate?" Sirius conceded that Lily had a point. "James should be home shortly, and you can discuss the legal options then. Have you written back to Archie yet?"

Sirius wrote back to Archie, verifying that he was safe and whole. Archie sent one more letter that night, promising that he was fine, that his House was watching out for him more closely than ever and had come to help him. Archie insisted that Sirius not come visit–it seemed a bit odd for Archie, but Sirius assumed he must like his newfound independence and not want his friends to see his father there.

After several more letters over the next few days, Sirius agreed not to visit, assured that Archie would be home in just a few weeks. Lee Jordan left Hogwarts, and escaped with minimal consequences. Hogwarts traditionally dealt with problems internally, no one was seriously harmed, and no one wanted to drag the children through an Auror investigation or trial.

And it was just a few weeks before Archie was writing home about getting home. Sirius noted that Archie wanted to meet at a café away from the train station. Archie seemed determined that his friends and Sirius did not meet–perhaps that was how it was in Slytherin? Though, Sirius hadn't wanted his parents to meet his friends and embarrass him when he was eleven either. Sirius knew he was much less terrifying than his own mother had been, but the political differences between Sirius and Archie's friends' parents were similar enough.

Either way, he would respect Archie's request. At least Archie had picked a good café for him to wait at.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dialogue in italics is directly from The Pureblood Pretense.

Lily and James waited impatiently near the baggage claim area. Nearly all of the other AIM students–easily identifiable as the large group of teenagers traveling alone–had come out, but Harry was not to be seen. Just as the luggage started coming out, they heard her. "Mum! Dad!"

"Harry! How are you? How's school?" Lily asked, as she swept her up in a hug.

"I'm great, school was great, how are you?"

As they gathered the luggage and returned to Potter Place, Lily updated Harry on the news from their friends and the other Light families in Britain–Remus's Floo was broken, the Marauders business was keeping everyone busy, and the political front was oddly quiet. Harry deflected most questions about AIM, saying that everyone would want to hear the details and she could tell all her stories at dinner.

Predictably, Harry wanted to head to Grimmauld Place right away, though Lily insisted she eat lunch first while they waited for Remus to Apparate over to use their Floo. Lily then sent the other three through the Floo first, to ensure they would get the brunt of whatever pranks Sirius and Archie had set up. Unfortunately, Sirius had planned for this and set a separate bucket of water to be dumped on each person who arrived. "Sirius! Our children have just returned from school, and all you want to do is set up pranks?"

"Of course!" Sirius answered. "That one was Archie's idea, to ensure you got hit too." Lily looked around to scold Archie, but he had already disappeared upstairs with Harry. "Did I mention that Archie started going by his middle name at school?"

"Sirius Black, you will not distract me from your pranks that easily."

A few hours later, after seven pranks had been disabled (Lily hoped that was all of them but was not confident), Harry and Archie found them talking in the kitchen. "There you two are."

 _"Hi, Mum,"_ Harry said, hugging Lily.

Lily was surprised at how affectionate Harry was, but they never had been apart for more than a week or two before, and she smiled. _"Uh, hello darling. My, my, two hugs in one day, you must have missed me more than you let on."_ Harry immediately stepped back. Lily sighed and told her to go greet Sirius.

After Archie hugged Lily in turn, he immediately asked, "What's for dinner?"

Lily glanced at Sirius, who answered, "Anyone not helping cook will find out when it's ready!"

She laughed. "We'd better get started, since these two have been missing our cooking for months now." Both kids nodded enthusiastically. "Both of your schools have excellent food, you know. Someday you're going to have to learn to cook if you want to eat like that."

While cooking dinner, Lily learned that Archie had also been reticent about events at Hogwarts; by the time they finished, she was more than ready to hear the stories. She was curious how Harry liked healing after focusing on potions for so long, and what Archie thought of the school he had fought to stay out of. _"So, how do you like Hogwarts?"_

James and Sirius seemed primarily interested in what pranks they had gotten up to at school, though as AIM didn't have nearly the pranking culture that Hogwarts did, Harry didn't have much to contribute.

Lily was concerned at how Harry and Archie wanted to fulfill each others dreams. They would learn sooner or later that didn't work particularly well. She loved being in England, but it didn't help the friends she had left behind in America. As long as Harry and Archie were fine with it and it prompted them to learn more, she wouldn't say anything for now, but she would have to see how they felt after a couple years. Remus looked worried too, and she made a note to talk to him later, when Sirius wasn't trying to convince her daughter to illegally do underage magic and implying he had set up a pie launcher at Potter Place. At least Harry was sensible enough to refuse to heal him. If she was exceptionally lucky, Harry would keep that up and stay out of trouble all break.

* * *

The next morning, Lily walked into the Potter library to find Harry studying before breakfast. "Harry? It's early for you to be doing schoolwork already. What are you working on?"

Harry looked guilty and tried to push her wand behind her books. "Mum! I had some, uh, transfiguration work that Archie doesn't have to cover, so I thought I'd get it done before he comes over."

The transfiguration book looked advanced–Lily remembered using that book in fourth and fifth years–but she was more interested in the wand. The wood looked lighter and less grained, and the wand looked more slender than she remembered. "Is that the wand we bought at Ollivander's? It looks different."

Harry looked completely panicked now. "Uh, no." She paused, apparently embarrassed. "My wand, well, didn't work right for me. So I got a new one."

"Harry, that's great!" Lily reassured her, "A wand should work for you, and if the one we got didn't work right, I'm glad you got a new one. Where did you buy it?"

"One of the professors took me, um, into town for it. It wasn't a big deal."

Lily frowned. The town near AIM was a small Muggle town, and she was pretty sure they didn't have a wand store. They should have had to go to Charleston, which had a decent wizarding district. "Into Charleston?" she checked. Harry nodded. "Which wandmaker is there?"

"Uhh, I think it was Thompson? I'm not sure."

The name wasn't familiar, but Lily hadn't been to Charleston in years. "And it works for you? What's it made from?"

Harry smiled, relaxing. "Holly with a phoenix feather core. Oh–I left my old wand there. The wandmaker was interested in it and I didn't think I'd need it."

Lily shook her head. "I shouldn't think so. Just remember, no magic over break."

"I would never!" Lily knew Harry was probably going to do magic as soon as she left, but hopefully the threat would keep her from doing anything risky.

Although, that was an advanced book, and transfigurations was a dangerous subject to get ahead in. "Is that the first-year transfiguration textbook now?"

Harry belatedly pushed her notes over the book. "No, just some advanced reading I was doing. I wanted to learn more, and my friend lent me the book."

Learning ahead was exactly the sort of thing Harry would do, though she had stuck to potions in the past. "For transfiguration? In addition to potions?"

"Yes, just the theory. Don't worry, I won't be practicing anything too dangerous." Lily didn't feel very reassured by this, but left Harry to her studying. She had more than enough to think about, adding this to the odd detachment and vagueness she picked up from most of Harry's stories about AIM. Lily hoped Harry wasn't focusing on academics too much and not making friends and settling in.

* * *

With Christmas quickly approaching, Lily spent a day in Diagon Alley shopping and another evening poring over catalogs picking out gifts for the whole extended family and a few friends–she had to find the Longbottoms something nice, and a small group of coworkers exchanged gifts every year. She stepped into Muggle London briefly to find the most generic possible gift for Petunia, quickly choosing a scented candle and card. Harry and Archie disappeared for a day, presumably to buy their own gifts.

Harry assured Lily that she would exchange gifts with her friends from AIM when they returned to school after break, to save mailing packages internationally. Lily had done the same in school, but she was pleased to see a large package arrive from Hermione Granger early Christmas morning.

They opened their gifts after brunch, and Harry seemed thrilled with the stirring rods she'd received. Sirius apparently felt no guilt over sending Archie to Hogwarts since he'd bought a basic Healer's kit for Harry. Harry thanked him and looked happy with it, but from how Archie kept peeking at it, Lily didn't think Harry would be the one using it. Harry had, unsurprisingly, brewed useful household potions for everyone, which Lily really was happy with–they were higher quality than any she could get without brewing her own or ordering from Burke.

As soon as they could, Harry and Archie disappeared upstairs with the last couple of gifts from their friends. Lily frowned. She had thought to suggest a game, and the weather was nice enough for three-on-three Quidditch, but they apparently had better things to do. She would have to ask about Hermione's gift later.

* * *

The rest of the break passed as quickly as the first part. They celebrated the new year with fireworks and trials of new pranking products. James had to work some days, leaving Lily with plenty of free time while her office was closed. Harry and Archie seemed determined to spend their entire break studying, despite her best efforts to persuade them away from the books. Harry told her a few stories about AIM, but had little to say about the professors and clubs that Lily remembered.

Lily ended up spending most of her time helping Remus develop products for the Marauders business. After Archie's incident with Lee Jordan, they wanted to be particularly careful that none of the products could be tampered with. It used the same skill set as her main job, but joking with Remus and trying to think of absurd ways a Flower Shower could be misused was much more fun.

Too soon, Lily and James said their goodbyes to Archie and took Harry to the airport for the spring semester. Harry seemed to relax on the way, and be less on edge than she had been all break. "We're supposed to learn to heal broken bones next, and then start the basics of diagnosing diseases," she explained, excited. Lily felt a pang at how her little girl was growing up and had to leave again for months on end. Pushing down her sadness, she hoped this was a positive sign that Harry was doing well at AIM.

"Take care of yourself, Fawn. Have fun, do plenty of pranks. I won't have you embarrassing the Marauders' name in America."

"I will, Dad! I'll be sure to use the new products where everyone sees them."

Lily hugged Harry. "Goodbye, Harry. Have a good term, spend time with your friends, and keep writing regularly. I love you, and we'll see you in just a few months."

"Love you too, Mum. I'd better go, I see Hermione walking in. See you in a few months!" And with that, Harry disappeared into the crowd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Constructive criticism is always welcome!


End file.
